After opening on a strong note this morning, the ASX 200 faded into the afternoon, retreating from a three-week high to close slightly lower, down 0.02% at 8,249.2 points.
The Technology and Real Estate sectors were the best performers of the day, up 0.80% and 0.76% respectively.
The Materials sector underperformed, falling by more than 1.4%, as a lower iron ore price hit the big iron ore miners.
BHP (ASX:BHP) lost 2.1% to $38.92, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) is down 2% at $115.09 and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) is off 1.7% to $18.10 after Singapore iron ore futures fell by 2.7% to a seven-week low of US$98.21 a tonne.
Insignia Financial made headlines today after it revealed a A$2.87 billion takeover bid from US-based investment manager CC Capital Partners (WA:CPAP), exceeding the A$2.67 billion offer from Bain Capital. Insignia shares shot to a three-year high on the news.
Services sector expands
The S&P Global Australia Services PMI business activity index rose slightly to 50.8 in December from 50.5 in November — the eleventh consecutive month of expansion.
This improvement reflects stronger market demand and increased optimism, which reached its highest level in more than two-and-a-half years.
However, employment in the sector declined for the first time since August 2021, raising concerns about potential job shedding if activity growth remains modest. Input cost inflation intensified, leading to higher average charges, a potential concern for the RBA as it approaches an anticipated interest rate cut.
S&P Global Market Intelligence economics associate director Jingyi Pan noted that while inflationary pressures had risen, input and output price inflation rates remained below their long-term averages.
S&P expects a February rate cut to support economic growth, which should help the economy expand by 2.3% in 2025.
West Wits Mining higher
After providing an update on financing arrangements for the Qala Shallows Gold Project, which is the first Phase 1 of its Witwatersrand Basin Project (WBP) in South Africa, West Wits Mining Ltd (ASX:WWI, OTCQB:WMWWF) shares were as much as 21.43% higher today to $0.017.
Other small cap movers today were Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, NASDAQ:NVA), which was up to 16.67% higher to $0.455, Kali Metals Ltd (ASX:KM1) hit $0.15, a rise of 15.39% on the previous close, Solis Minerals Ltd (ASX:SLM, TSX-V:SLMN, OTCQB:SLMFF) climbed 14.3% to $0.08, Imugene Ltd (ASX:IMU, OTC:IUGNF) reached $0.044, an increase of 12.83% on the previous close, Provaris Energy Ltd (ASX:PV1, OTC:GBBLF) was 11.11% higher to $0.02 on executing a supply and offtake term sheet, Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25, OTCQX:ELMTF) was 10% higher to $0.275, Dynamic Metals Ltd (ASX:DYM) was as much as 5.36% higher to $0.295 and Latin Resources Ltd (ASX:LRS, OTC:LRSRF) lifted by 5% to a daily high of $0.1575.
Five at Five
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On your six
Lithium outlook 2025: opportunities present in down cycle
The lithium sector has faced a number of challenges in 2024 as the price of the commodity slipped by nearly 25% year-on-year amid a prolonged price rout, despite demand for lithium-ion batteries, which power electric cars and store renewable energy power, growing exponentially.
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